About this role
AgileEngine is an Inc. 5000 company that creates award-winning software for Fortune 500 brands and trailblazing startups across 17+ industries. We rank among the leaders in areas like application development and AI/ML, and our people-first culture has earned us multiple Best Place to Work awards.
WHY JOIN US
If you're looking for a place to grow, make an impact, and work with people who care, we'd love to meet you!
ABOUT THE ROLE
We are looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to build and scale the backend of a high-traffic gaming companion site.
The mandatory requirements are 5+ years of backend development with TypeScript on Node.js, PostgreSQL or MySQL, Redis caching, REST and GraphQL APIs, daily use of AI coding tools, and an upper-intermediate English level.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
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Build and maintain REST and GraphQL APIs in TypeScript (Fastify, Hono) for user profiles, subscriptions and game data, including authentication, rate limits and typed contracts.
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Design schemas and write queries for PostgreSQL and MySQL (Prisma, Drizzle), including versioned game data, player builds and migrations on tables in live use.
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Run ClickHouse analytics pipelines: request logs, materialized views, article and revenue metrics, and the queries behind dashboards.
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Own the cache layers end to end: Redis-compatible stores, query caching, tag-invalidated cache, HTTP headers and CDN purges.
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Build and run scheduled jobs and queue consumers (NATS) for game data sync, leaderboards, Meilisearch indexing, sitemaps, Stripe webhooks, payouts and data-deletion requests.
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Integrate third-party APIs (Stripe, Discord, Blizzard, IGDB, Steam, YouTube), handling retries, backoff and rate limits.
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Process game images into map tiles, sprite sheets and responsive image sizes.
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Keep responses lean for Remix and Next.js pages to improve time to first byte, PageSpeed and SEO.
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Work with AI coding agents every day: direct them, review their output, and maintain the guardrails that make their changes safe to merge (tests, lint rules, build checks, agent instructions).
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Deploy through Docker, GitHub Actions and Kubernetes.
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Support high-traffic game launches, including outside regular hours when needed.
MUST HAVES
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5+ years of backend development with TypeScript on Node.js.
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Strong command of TypeScript’s type system (generics, inference, discriminated unions, narrowing).
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Schema validation experience with Zod or similar.
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Strong SQL skills in PostgreSQL and/or MySQL: schema design, indexing, query plans, migrations on live data, transactions and locking.
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Experience running an analytical database at production volume (ClickHouse preferred; BigQuery, Druid or similar also count).
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Experience designing caching: Redis or a compatible store, invalidation strategies, HTTP cache headers, CDN behavior.
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Experience designing and consuming REST and GraphQL APIs, including authentication and rate limiting.
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Experience with background jobs and message queues, including handling jobs that run twice or don’t run at all.
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Experience with high-volume, user-facing production applications.
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Experience taking a product from idea to production.
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Proficiency with agentic AI coding tools (Claude Code, Cursor or similar): daily, hands-on use in a real codebase, and good judgment about when their output needs checking.
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Comfortable reading and changing React code when a feature reaches the frontend.
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Able to work well in a startup-style, fast-paced environment with changing priorities.
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Flexible about working hours: some game launches happen in the evening or on weekends and need coverage outside the standard 9-to-5.
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Passion for gaming.
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Upper-intermediate English level.
NICE TO HAVES
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Experience with Bun.
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Experience with any of the current stack: Remix, Next.js, Fastify, Hono, Prisma, Drizzle, Apollo GraphQL, Meilisearch, NATS, Ory, Stripe, Nx.
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shadcn/ui and Tailwind CSS.
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Strict lint setups (typescript-eslint strictTypeChecked, custom lint rules, architecture boundaries).
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Docker, Kubernetes, GitOps (ArgoCD), GitHub Actions, External Secrets.
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Payments and subscriptions (Stripe checkout, webhooks, promotion codes).
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Writing agent instructions, skills or custom tooling for AI coding agents.
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Experience building game tools, such as databases, interactive maps, calculators or planners.
PERKS AND BENEFITS
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Professional growth: Mentorship, TechTalks, and personalized growth roadmaps.
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Competitive compensation: USD-based pay with education, fitness, and team activity budgets.
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Exciting projects: Modern solutions with Fortune 500 and top product companies.
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Flextime: Flexible schedule with remote and office options.
Meet Our Recruitment Process
Application → Coding Challenge → Video Interview → Technical Interview or Hiring Manager Interview
Each step helps us understand your skills and overall fit.
If it’s a match, you’ll receive an offer.